 During his twenty-four year tenure at Common Cause, Wertheimer led the organization's successful campaign to pass the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), creating the current system of public financing in presidential campaigns.Wertheimer also led Common Cause's successful battles to enact comprehensive ethics and open government laws for Congress and the executive branch, and was a "key architect" of the nuclear arms control coalition in the 1980s, according to Congressional Quarterly.He also helped to create and publish "Common Cause Magazine", which won the National Magazine Award for general excellence in 1987.